Georgia Draft Profile: Kelee Ringo
It’s officially draft week in the NFL. Come Thursday, players from all across the College Football landscape will start to find their new homes. Last year that happened in record breaking fashion for the Georgia Bulldogs with 15 players picked. It won’t be quite that many this year, but Kirby Smart’s crew still should be well represented in the selections taking place over the course of three days in Kansas City.
With double-digit Georgia players expected to be picked, DawgsHQ prepares you by taking a look back on their respective collegiate careers with our Georgia Draft Profile series. Next up, someone who will draw a road in Athens regardless of whether he’s at the game or not when his signature moment comes up on the video board, cornerback Kelee Ringo.
Kelee Ringo
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 207 pounds
Arms / Hands: 31 1/4 inches / 8 1/2 inches
High School / Hometown: Saguaro (Ariz.) / Tacoma, Wash.
On3 Industry Ranking (2020): No. 4 overall, No. 1 cornerback, No. 1 in state of Arizona
Where to start with Kelee Ringo? Well, his Georgia story begins when he signed as the No. 1 cornerback in the country. Expectations were through the roof but had to be put on pause for a little while after his arrival as he missed the entire 2020 season recovering from a labrum surgery. However, he earned a starting spot a couple of games into the 2021 campaign and never gave way.
Ringo had an athletic interception in Georgia’s early-season win over UAB. Two weeks later, he was the starter and stayed in that role the final 12 games of the year. Ringo was named to the Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team and to the watch list for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award – eventually brought back to Athens by his teammate Brock Bowers. When the Bulldogs beat the No. 11 Kentucky Wildcats in a highly anticipated matchup, he had a career-high seven stops including a sack on NFL Draft prospect Will Levis. He had multiple tackles in seven games down the stretch and capped things off with six tackles in the National Championship win over Alabama. And oh yeah, there was also the 79-yard pick six off of potential No. 1 overall selection Bryce Young to seal the deal and start the celebration.
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Considering the magnitude of the play – plus the expectations that were set out for him coming into college as the No. 1 cornerback – hopes were high for what Ringo could do in 2022. He never quite lived up to that though, struggling at times in coverage to track the ball in the air and, as a result, giving up a few big plays. Still, he managed to hold his own against some of the best wide receivers in the country. That was especially true in Georgia’s win over then-No. 1 Tennessee when Ringo went stride for stride with Cedric Tillman to intercept Hendon Hooker. He had a season-high seven tackles in the win too. Then, just a matter of weeks later, Ringo had his second interception off of an NFL prospect picking off Levis in a second matchup against him.
Ringo ran well at the NFL Scouting Combine considering his size. It’s that combination of size and speed that intrigues teams most about him as a prospect. Can he become a lockdown corner? Maybe. After all, he is still incredibly young. The possibility of making a move to safety also exists. Either way, some team is going to value the risk with the potential reward of their franchise’s next star player when they pick Ringo, projected to go in the early second round area.
